Electrical connectors typically comprise one or more conductive contacts at least partially protected by non-conductive housing structure. Often, such electrical connectors include one or more locking features configured to position the connector or its housing structure relative to a mating connector and/or some other structure such as, for example, a wall of a device within which a mating connector resides, a junction box, a vehicle, and the like. One example of such an electrical connector includes a locking feature comprising a flexible arm extending from the housing of the connector and including a feature (e.g., a hook) that is configured to engage a complementary feature (e.g., a loop) on a mating connector or other structure.
Often, the locking arm of such connectors are configured and positioned so as to define a space between the locking arm and the outer surface of the connector housing. This space may be configured to accommodate the housing structure of a mating connector (e.g., to form a seal), and the locking arm may also be configured to deform sufficiently to enable it to engage a corresponding locking feature on the mating structure. Accordingly, the locking arm may be configured as a cantilevered beam structure, fixedly attached to a base structure at one end and extending from the base structure over the connector housing to mate with a corresponding feature on a mating element. The base structure, then is positioned on the connector housing.
Unfortunately, experience has shown that connectors having such cantilevered locking arms are prone to a number of problems related to the failure and lack of reliability of the locking arm. For example, during assembly, foreign matter may become lodged within the space between the locking arm and the outer surface of the connector housing, resulting in excessive deformation of the locking arm as it is mated. Similarly, the locking arm may inadvertently catch one or more wires or other structure in a host device. If the trapped wire and the connector are subsequently moved relative to one another, the wire may cause the locking arm to deform excessively (e.g., displacing the locking arm away from the adjacent surface of the connector housing). Still further, while such connectors are handled during packaging, assembly or repair of a host device, they may be passed through small holes or may otherwise be physically manipulated within cramped spaces, commonly resulting in excessive deformation of the flexible arm of the locking feature. Such deformation may be considered excessive if it significantly exceeds the level or frequency of deformation normally associated with the intended function of the arm, which is to engage and accommodate a corresponding structure (e.g., to traverse a retainer step on a mating connector).
As a result of such excessive deformation, the locking arm of the connector may become weakened through fatigue or may even fail at a location where stresses are concentrated such as at the point where the arm is fixed to the base. As a result, the reliability of the position assurance and/or locking function, and therefore of the connector and possibly its host device, may be compromised.
Prior attempts to address this issue have produced locking arm designs that include a groove formed into the flexible arm and its base, such that the cross-sectional area of the material at both the base of the arm and in the arm itself is smaller than the cross-sectional area where the arm and its base is fixed to the connector body. In practice, when the arm of such connectors are deformed beyond a strain limit inherent in the material, a hinge is induced at or near where the arm meets its base. Unfortunately, this solution often causes the material displaced at the induced hinge of the bend to buckle (i.e., to “bunch up”), causing additional material interference as the arm deforms. Such material interference, in turn causes additional strain to be concentrated in the vicinity of the induced hinge.
Accordingly, a need exists for a connector having a flexible arm that can resist, or better tolerate, deformation of the arm away from the connector housing, while avoiding excessive material interference in the area of the induced hinge.